Mika was one of the biggest pop stars of the Noughties – even drawing comparisons with legendary Queen frontman Freddie Mercury.
With his bouncy curls, flamboyant style and infectious energy, the eccentric star was hailed as the next big thing.
And he was for a while, spawning huge hits like Grace Kelly, Love Today and Big Girl (You Are Beautiful).
Although he has continued to quietly release music - most recently in 2019 - Mika has been relatively under the radar for a few years now.
But it seems he is ready to step back into the spotlight as he is confirmed as a host at this year’s Eurovision in Italy, which takes place later tonight.
So what has Mika been up to until now? Here we take a look.
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Back in early 2007, Mika – whose real name is Michael Holbrook Penniman Jr - burst on to the music scene after being named the best new talent in the BBC ’s Sound of music poll.
At the time the Beirut-born star, who was based in London, was just 23 years old – and experts were comparing him to both Freddie Mercury and the Scissor Sisters.
A few weeks later he topped the UK charts with his debut single Grace Kelly from his breakthrough album, Life In Cartoon Motion.
The album went on to sell over 7 million copies and earned him a Brit Award for Best Breakthrough Artist, as well as a Grammy nomination.
After a whirlwind couple of years in which he seemed to be everywhere, Mika returned to the studio to record his second album, The Boy Who Knew Too Much.
This was released in 2009 – and although it didn’t quite have as much impact as his first, it was still a success.
It featured hit We Are Golden, in which he dances round in green glitter boots in the video, and went on to sell over 2 million copies.
Mika reportedly spent £25,000 on drinks after inviting fans to join him at his local pub on Twitter to celebrate the release of his new single.
The star, who grew up in Paris and wrote his first song aged seven, went on to do several tours around the world.
He even performed as a honorary member of Boyzone in 2009 as part of a tribute to the late Stephen Gately.
And in 2010 he released the track Kick Ass (We Are Young), the theme tune to the superhero movie of the same name.
After that, Mika seemed to disappear for a bit – at least in the UK anyway.
But elsewhere, he was gaining popularity in Europe due to him being able to speak French, Italian and Spanish fluently.
This meant he was able to appear as a judge on The Voice France. He was also a judge on Italy’s version of The X Factor.
Behind the scenes, he still released music. His third album The Origin of Love included a number of French songs and elements of Fleetwood Mac and Daft Punk.
As well as being a pop star in his own right, Mika has admitted to secretly writing songs for other stars - but you will never know who for, as he revealed he uses fake names in the credits.
His fourth album No Place In Heaven was released in 2015 taking its inspiration from Sixties pop music.
Then in 2016 he landed his own show in Italy – Stasera Casa Mika (At Home with Mika) – in which he interviewed celebrity guests such as Kylie, Sting and Dita von Teese. It later won a Best Entertainment Series award.
His fifth album My Name Is Michael Holbrook came out in 2019 and he went on a worldwide tour, even performing at the top of the Eiffel Tower to celebrate its 130th anniversary.
A concert he held to aid his home city of Beirut when it was bombed in 2020 went on to raise over £1 million.
When it comes to his personal life, Mika told the media people could “call him bisexual” back in 2009.
The now 38-year-old added: ‘I consider myself label-less because I could fall in love with anybody – literally any type, any body, I’m not picky.”
But a 2012 interview with Instinct magazine, he came out as gay telling the publication: “If you ask me ‘Am I gay?’ I say yeah.
“Are these songs about my relationship with a man? I saw Yeah.
"And it’s through my music that I’ve found the strength to come to terms with my sexuality beyond the context of just my lyrics. This is my real life.”
It is thought Mika is still in a relationship with filmmaker Andreas Dermanis, who he has been romantically involved with for more than 10 years.
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